Broader Public Sector Advertising Act, 2014 Bisson, Gilles — Bill 134 (40th Parliament, 2nd Session)

Bill 134, 40-2

Ontario — Bills

role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 134, Broader Public Sector Advertising Act, 2014

Bisson, Gilles

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

[40] Bill 134 Original (PDF)

Bill 134 2013

Act respecting broader public sector advertising

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the

Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Interpretation

(1) In this Act,

"broader

public sector organization" means,

(

a) every

hospital,

(

b) every

school board,

(

c) every

university in Ontario and every college of applied arts and technology and

post-secondary institution in Ontario whether or not affiliated with a

university, the enrolments of which are counted for purposes of calculating

annual operating grants and entitlements,

(

d) every

approved agency designated as a children's aid society under subsection 15

(2) Part I of the Child and Family Services Act ,

(

e) every

community care access corporation,

(

f) every

corporation controlled by one or more broader public sector organizations that

exists solely or primarily for the purpose of purchasing goods or services for

the broader public sector organization or organizations,

(

g) every

publicly funded organization that received public funds of 10 million dollars

or more in the previous fiscal year of the Government of Ontario,

(

h) any

authority, board, commission, corporation, office, person or organization of

persons, the majority of whose members, directors or officers are appointed or

chosen by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or a

member of the Executive Council,

(

i) Hydro

One Inc. and each of its subsidiaries,

(

j) Ontario

Power Generation Inc. and each of its subsidiaries, and

(

k) every

organization that is prescribed for the purposes of this definition;

("organisme du secteur parapublic")

"item" means a reviewable advertisement, reviewable

printed matter or a reviewable message, as the case may be; ("document")

"Minister" means the Attorney General or such other

member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration

of this Act may be assigned or transferred under the Executive

Council Act ; ("ministre")

"prescribed" means prescribed by a regulation made under

this Act. ("prescrit")

Head

of an organization

(2) For the purposes of this Act, the head

of a broader public sector organization is the person prescribed by the

regulations as the head of that organization.

Requirements

re advertising

Application

(1) This

section applies with respect to any advertisement that a broader public sector

organization proposes to pay to have published in a newspaper or magazine, made

available on the Internet or a similar electronic medium, displayed on a

billboard, or broadcast on radio or on television.

Submission

for review

(2) The head of the organization shall give

a copy of the advertisement to the Office of the Auditor General for review.

Prohibition

on use pending review

(3) The organization shall not publish,

make available, display or broadcast the advertisement before the head of the

organization receives notice, or is deemed to have received notice, of the

results of the review.

Prohibition

(4) The organization shall not publish,

make available, display or broadcast the advertisement if the head of the

organization receives notice that, in the Auditor General's opinion, the

advertisement does not meet the standards required by this Act.

Non-application

(5) This

section does not apply with

respect to a notice to the public that is required by law, an advertisement

about an urgent matter affecting public health or safety, a job advertisement

or an advertisement about the provision of goods or services to a broader

public sector organization.

Requirements

re printed matter

Application

(1) This

section applies with respect to printed matter that a broader public sector

organization proposes to pay to have distributed to households in Ontario

either by bulk mail or by another method of bulk delivery.

Submission

for review

(2) The head of the organization shall give

a copy of the printed matter to the Office of the Auditor General for review.

Prohibition

on use pending review

(3) The organization shall not distribute

the printed matter before the head of the organization receives notice, or is

deemed to have received notice, of the results of the review.

Prohibition

(4) The organization shall not distribute

the printed matter if the head of the organization receives notice that, in the

Auditor General's opinion, it does not meet the standards required by this Act.

Non-application

(5) This

section does not apply with

respect to a notice to the public that is required by law or printed matter

about an urgent matter affecting public health or safety or about the provision

of goods or services to a broader public sector organization.

Interpretation

(6) For the purposes of this section,

printed matter is distributed by bulk mail or another method of bulk delivery

if, when it is distributed, it is not individually addressed to the intended

recipient.

Requirements

re additional classes of messages

(1) This

section applies with respect to such additional classes of messages as may be

prescribed that a broader public sector organization proposes to convey to the

public in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

Submission

for review

(2) The head of the organization shall give

a copy of the message to the Office of the Auditor General for review.

Prohibition

on use pending review

(3) The organization shall not convey the

message before the head of the organization receives notice, or is deemed to

have received notice, of the results of the review.

Prohibition

(4) The organization shall not convey the

message if the head of the organization receives notice that, in the Auditor

General's opinion, the message does not meet the standards required by this

Act.

Non-application

(5) This

section does not apply with

respect to a message that is a notice to the public that is required by law,

that concerns an urgent matter affecting public health or safety, that is a job

advertisement or that concerns the provision of goods or services to a broader

public sector organization.

Review

by the Auditor General

(1) When

an item is given to the Office of the Auditor General for review, the Auditor

General shall review it to determine whether, in his or her opinion, it meets

the standards required by this Act.

Decision

(2) The decision of the Auditor General is

final.

Required

standards

(1) The

following are the standards that an item is required to meet:

1. It

must be a reasonable means of achieving one or more of the following purposes:

i. To

inform the public of current or proposed broader public sector policies,

programs or services available to them.

ii. To

inform the public of their rights and responsibilities under the law.

iii. To

encourage or discourage specific social behaviour, in the public interest.

iv. To

promote Ontario or any part of Ontario as a good place to live, work, invest,

study or visit or to promote any economic activity or sector of Ontario's

economy.

2. It

must include a statement that the item is paid for by the broader public sector

organization.

3. It

must not include the name, voice or image of a member of the Executive Council

or a member of the Assembly.

4. It

must not be partisan.

5. It

must not be a primary objective of the item to foster a positive impression of

the broader public sector organization or a negative impression of a person or

entity who is critical of the organization.

6. It

must meet such additional standards as may be prescribed.

Advertising

outside Ontario

(2) Paragraph 3 of subsection (1) does not

apply with respect to an item for which the primary target audience is located

outside of Ontario.

Partisan

advertising

(3) An item is partisan if, in the opinion

of the Auditor General, a primary objective of the item is to promote the

partisan political interests of the governing party.

Same

(4) The Auditor General shall consider such

factors as may be prescribed, and may consider such additional factors as he or

she considers appropriate, in deciding whether the primary objective of an item

is to promote the partisan political interests of the governing party.

Notice

of results of review

(1) The

Office of the Auditor General shall notify the head of the broader public

sector organization of the results of the review within seven days after

receiving an item for review.

Deemed

notice

(2) If the notice is not given within that

period, the head shall be deemed to have received notice that the item meets

the standards required by this Act.

Submission

of revised version

(1) If

the head of a broader public sector organization is notified that an item does

not meet the standards required by this Act and if the organization proposes to

use a revised version of it, the head shall give the revised version to the

Office of the Auditor General for a further review.

Prohibition

on use pending review

(2) The organization shall not use the

revised version before the head of the organization receives notice, or is

deemed to have received notice, of the results of the review.

Prohibition

(3) The organization shall not use the

revised version if the head of the organization receives notice that, in the

Auditor General's opinion, the revised version does not meet the standards

required by this Act.

Review

of revised version

(4) Sections 5 and 6 apply with respect to

the review.

Notice

of results of review, revised version

(5) The Office of the Auditor General shall

notify the head of the results of the further review within seven days after

receiving the revised version.

Deemed

notice

(6) If the notice is not given within that

period, the head shall be deemed to have received notice that the revised

version meets the standards required by this Act.

Reports

to the Assembly

Annual

report

(1) Each

year, the Auditor General shall report to the Speaker of the Assembly about

such matters as the Auditor General considers appropriate relating to his or

her powers and duties under this Act.

Same

(2) In the annual report, the Auditor

General shall notify the Speaker about any contraventions of

section 2, 3, 4 or

Special

report

(3) The Auditor General may make a special

report to the Speaker at any time on any matter that in the opinion of the

Auditor General should not be deferred until the annual report.

Tabling

of reports

(4) The Speaker shall lay each annual

report or special report of the Auditor General before the Assembly forthwith

if it is in session or, if not, not later than the 10th day of the next

session.

Access

to records

10. The

Auditor General may examine the records of a broader public sector organization

at any time for the purpose of determining whether

section 2, 3, 4 or 8 has

been contravened, and the Auditor General or his or her designate shall be

given access to such records as he or she considers necessary for that purpose.

Immunity

(1) No

action or other proceeding shall be brought against a person who publishes,

makes available, displays or broadcasts a reviewable advertisement on the sole

ground that, under this Act, a broader public sector organization was not

permitted to use it to communicate with the public.

Same

(2) No action or other proceeding shall be

brought against a person who distributes reviewable printed matter on the sole

ground that, under this Act, a broader public sector organization was not

permitted to distribute it.

Same

(3) No action or other proceeding shall be

brought against a person who conveys to the public on behalf of

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 134, 40-2
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p40 s2 bill 134 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	cc3b271bbcfc47efb9202cfc4c13dbae14953b1f

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).